Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU) has suspended head coach Eddie Jones for four matches and reduced his salary for “verbal abuse directed at local match officials” during an Australian tour with the Under-23 national team.

The JRFU announced Wednesday that the 66-year-old Australian violated their ethics and disciplinary regulations during the Japan U23 team’s tour of Australia from April 1 to 15.

“These measures relate to incidences of verbal abuse directed at local match officials,” the JRFU said in a statement, adding that Jones had “accepted this decision.”

“I accept the disciplinary action of the JRFU relating to the U23 Japan national team tour of Australia. Some inappropriate remarks that I made caused discomfort to local match officials and other related parties,” Jones said in a statement.

“I would like to offer my sincere apologies to everyone involved. I deeply regret my behaviour and words and will make every effort to ensure that this doesn’t happen again,” he added.

Jones will miss Japan’s Nations Championship opener against Italy in Tokyo on July 4 and is barred from taking part in two games between a Japan select team and Hong Kong on May 22 and 29. He is also banned from the Japan XV game against the Maori All Blacks on June 27 in Nagoya and the full Japan side’s Nations Championship opener against Italy. He is suspended from duty for six weeks between April 24 and June 5.

Source: www.aljazeera.com